President Donald Trump on Friday stated that he will allow for a short-term funding bill to reopen the government without the funds to construct his border wall.
“I am very proud to announce today that we have reached a deal to end the shutdown and re-open the federal government,” Trump said.
The bill will keep open the government for only three weeks.
The Hill reports that the announcement comes after days of Trump insisting that Republican lawmakers were united in the push to secure wall funding and that he would not cave on the issue. The Senate on Thursday rejected a pair of proposals to reopen the government, including one offered up by the White House.
After the Senate voted, Trump said to reporters that he would support a “reasonable agreement” with the Senate leaders.
“I have other alternatives if I have to,” Trump said when asked about the prospect of a deal without wall funding.
“And I’ll use those alternatives if I have to. But we want to go through the system. We have to have a wall in this country.”
Trump’s $5 billion wall was the main reason for the partial government shutdown that began on Dec. 22.
The reopening of the government comes after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) temporarily halted flights into and out of LaGuardia Airport in New York City, citing staffing shortages because of the shutdown.
Hundreds of thousands of federal workers have been furloughed or required to work without pay during the shutdown. Many government employees have missed two paychecks as of Friday.
Be the first to comment